


Just Not My Type!

by DixieDale



Category: Clan O'Donnell - Fandom, Garrison's Gorillas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 05:33:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15332898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DixieDale/pseuds/DixieDale
Summary: Actor, con man extraordinaire, true name and history unknown, sophisticated, aristocratic.  Lynn Garrison, ex-Allied operative, a well-brought up young woman of the upper-upper middle class, sister to Craig Garrison.  Two people, so different, from different worlds, different backgrounds.  Ask either of them and they would have told you, quite firmly, that the other was 'just not my type'.  Except, maybe, sometimes - that really isn't the point.





	Just Not My Type!

**Author's Note:**

> After the War, takes place sometime after story 'Surroundings That Benefit A True Gentleman'.

ACTOR: She just wasn't his type; there was no doubt about that. He liked elegant, sophisticated women; women who knew the game and how to play it. And she just, well, wasn't any of that, not naturally, anyway, though she could play the part on a con if need be.

Oh, she was quite attractive, certainly. Graceful. Her voice was warm and had just the right tone. She teased him with impunity, felt free to speak her mind, let him knew if he annoyed or disappointed her, which it seems he did on occasion, well, perhaps more often than that. Yes, sometimes he could feel a warmth of a different type, but he knew better than to play games with Garrison's sister, certainly better than to do anything to negatively affect the family relationship that made The Cottages work. No, no sense even thinking on it.

Sometimes he wondered if he shouldn't just move on, resume the life he'd known before, but he really didn't want to do that. The Cottages was more home than any place he could remember, at least in many, many years; this very odd assortment of individuals had become his family. But, somehow, even those visits to London, to elsewhere - all those names in his little black book - the appeal just wasn't there anymore. Oh, the NEEDS, they were just as strong as ever, but somehow the satisfying of those needs was a little less than truly SATISFYING, especially in the morning when he'd look over and somehow be startled at the identity of the woman laying next to him. It was almost as if he expected to see someone else, though he remembered quite well who he'd made love to in the night. That was hardly flattering to the lady or to himself, still, there it was. Though why that would be, why he kept expecting to see Lynn . . . He listened to himself and groaned; that made no sense whatsoever.

LYNN: He just wasn't her type; there was no doubt about that. Smug, self-satisfied, too ready to show how superior he was. Sometimes she thought she saw more, saw a more caring, deeper individual, was almost sure of it, and then, here would come, as Goniff called him sometimes "Mr. Snooty", the man she herself thought of as "Mr. I'm So Much Better Than You", lording it over everyone, and she wanted to either hit him or dump a chamber pot over his head. Not that they used chamber pots, but still, as an image it was highly satisfying, she thought.

She did her share of socializing, had those who'd call her, ask her to drive up to London and go with them to this dance, or that party, or whatever. Sometimes it was a house party somewhere in the country, occasionally it was one of the men she met during her work, with the military or now with Craig's business, inviting her to join them for some enjoyable excursion. Sometimes she went, but more and more she found herself saying no; it all just seemed a waste of time, and it was as if she had a clock inside her, ticking away, reminding her of that, that she was wasting valuable time when there was something else she was SUPPOSED to be doing, not that she could have told you what. The one thing she DID know, it all seemed to circle back to Actor.

She found herself balancing fondness with frustration, warmth with aggravation, and intense longing with downright fury, and more and more one tall snobbish, IRRITATING Italian MALE found himself the brunt of that. She listened to herself and groaned; that made no sense whatsoever.

Meghada watched the two of them dance around each other and shook her head with annoyance. "Craig, they are ideal for each other, are obviously in love with each other. Why all this, this . . .?"

Garrison just grinned, "want me to remind you of a few months worth of 'all this, this. . .' that you and Goniff went through? Then you can remind ME of what he and I went through. As well as Michael and Julie, or Gil and Rebecka. Never to get started on Kevin and Ciena and Coura! I think Ian and Jeffrey were the only ones to get it right first thing, right off the bat, no fuss and fury and angst. But I know what you mean. Not that Casino and Goniff aren't finding it all terribly amusing, even Chief maybe, still . . ."

But he didn't worry too much since it all worked fine when they all went out on the job. Just as it would this next go around, when he and Lynn, Actor and the other guys headed out to retrieve that wandering Russian miniature.

When the crew came home, it was to the sight of a large tarp covering a section of the roof. Somehow the section of roof over Actor's room developed a leak while he and the others were off in Denmark; obviously it had to be taken care of since the room was now non-inhabitable. Actor's things had been moved into the sage and cream room that sat next to Lynn's.

When he protested, Meghada told him quite firmly, "well, since your room is rather a mess right now, tarps and dust covers everywhere, carpets pulled up and put to air and dry, that's rather a shame. It's the only room with a bed big enough for you! Your books were moved and your clothes, so the damp doesn't get to them. The paintings as well, of course! Now, just settle in and try to make do, Actor! We're not talking about a cave in Yugoslavia here! You should find it comfortable enough! The roofers will be here any day now, I'd imagine!" 

At dinner that night, Garrison asked about the room, and Actor admitted it was quite comfortable, even the bed the proper size for him, even bigger than his own.

"Though I hadn't realized there was a door between the rooms; I had not noticed that before." Actor wasn't sure how Garrison would take that; Lynn was his sister, after all.

Garrison just looked a little puzzled, glanced over at Meghada who just smiled serenely back at him.

"I'd forgotten about that. Well, don't worry; I'm sure she'll respect your privacy," and Actor just looked at Garrison, puzzled at that offhand comment.

Later, in their own bedroom, "really, Meghada? Since when is there a door between the rooms? Last I looked that was a paneled wall," he asked the redhead in an extremely dry tone of voice.

"Oh, there are doors in all kinds of places; you'll find them when you unlatch the panels and slide them around a bit. It seemed it might come in handy; Goniff and I came up with the idea when we were planning out the reconstruction," she laughed.

"I see. Should I wonder what I'd find if I climbed on the roof and took a look under that tarp?"

"Oh, you wouldn't want to do that, Craig. Ever so dangerous, roofs are. Might fall and crack your credulity bone," and he just shook his head at the redhead, and at the grinning blond man enjoying the whole thing immensely. 

And the proximity had some effect. At least, Actor found himself thinking about Lynn more, knowing she was in that room next door; sometimes he could hear her moving around, sometimes talking to herself, humming, and he'd find himself smiling. When she tapped at his door one evening to see if he could help her get something off a tall shelf, he'd been happy to do so, and somehow, found himself opening a bottle of wine and the two of them sharing it back in his room. It had been quite pleasant, although all they shared had been the wine and some conversation, and they both went to sleep with a smile on their face. Somehow, when the roofers found themselves delayed, neither Actor nor Lynn were all that annoyed, and that quiet drink and conversation became a habit, something they both looked forward to, even if neither of them would have admitted it.

Whether the proximity alone would have eased them over the edge, no one knew, because a new event shifted everyone's focus. The land belonging to The Cottages was posted, 'No Hunting', 'No Trespassing'. Some very few individuals, like Rebecka Standish, they'd let hunt there in the past, as well as gather nuts, mushrooms, and other bounty, but now with all the forest back of the Mansion just sitting there, no one guarding it and Arthur Ballantine not having any signs up, most took their hunting over to that area. The sound of shots could be heard sometimes, and it got everyone's attention, but no one really was concerned; the shots were muffled by the trees, but even so, sounded far off.

No, they weren't concerned, til the evening Max came rushing in, barking like mad, four legs going as fast as they could, his white and tan and black coat smeared and splattered with blood.

"Max! What on earth??!" A shout brought the others, and Lynn turned as pale as Goniff.

"Max went with Actor for a walk! Where . . ." and the small dog turned and dashed back to the door, barking at them, and they followed after, the whole crew, trying to keep up. 

After that was a daze, finding the tall man slumped on the ground in the forest, bleeding profusely from a wound in the upper left side of his chest, them trying to get the blood staunched, Chief standing guard against any possible new attack, Goniff running for the doctor, the arrival of AJ Riley, moving Actor back to his temporary room at The Cottages so AJ could continue treating him.

By then Ben Miller had shown up with a tale to tell, and while their anger and deep concern wasn't lessened, it did relieve them of the worry that they were being targeted by one of their many enemies.

"Jobe Neary, it was. Totally clueless he is, none too bright in the first place, then adding more than a little drink on top of it. Started getting hungry, decided game stew sounded like a good idea, left the pub after drinking away the afternoon, went home to fetch his rifle and pot him whatever came to his sights. Started off near the Mansion but drifted across the lines. Had a couple of rabbits and a squirrel in his pouch, flushed up some quail, took a couple of quick shots. Said when he came close, he realized he'd shot Actor, Max having a right fit. Was afraid Max would bite him if he got too near. Took off in a hurry, got home all in a panic and his mum got the story out of him, brought him to me. He thought Actor was dead, you see, was the reason he hadn't run to fetch the doctor. Like I said, he's none too bright at the best of times, then got laid upside the head with something hard during the war which didn't help matters any. He's at my place with his mum and my Alice." 

AJ worked his medical magic, told them someone needed to stay close by, to call him if there were any changes. Well, he was the only doctor for miles around, and the world didn't stop when he got one patient, of course. And it wasn't as if there weren't more than enough bodies to do that 'staying close by'.

They alternated, sitting, talking to him, reading to him. Usually it was one person, but on the third night, Meghada made her way in, pulled a chair close, and prepared to stay for the duration. She'd not liked what she'd seen when she checked a few minutes earlier, saw his spirit starting to drift more than it should; she could see that, could perhaps pull him back if he started to drift too far. Of the others, only Chief might have been able to do the same, and she wasn't sure enough of that to let it rest solely on his shoulders, though it wasn't even his tour right now. Now, Casino in one chair, her in another, she prepared to ride it out. Casino didn't question her; frankly he was too afraid she'd give him an honest answer, and honest answers from the redhead always HAD made him more than a little uncomfortable.

It was more than a week later when AJ declared the tall man out of danger.

"Oh, he has mending to do, yet, of course, but there's no sign of infection and I don't see anything else we need to be overly concerned with. Keep an eye on him, of course, but you should all try and get some rest yourselves." He turned a stern look at the mistress of The Cottages, "and you in particular, young lady. I think you can safely leave this to the others NOW, don't you?" and got a smile and a nod.

"Aye, AJ; I think you're right. There's naught I can do they couldn't do just as well, not now."

They had a job due to start, one they couldn't delay, and Garrison reworked the plan so as not to involve the still-recuperating Actor. Lynn had asked not to be included either, and that was easily managed with Meghada taking Lynn's usual place. By the time they returned, the level of ease between the two had increased dramatically, enough that door adjoining their rooms was open as much as it was closed. Goniff and Casino had snickered a little at the level of familarity, even Chief had smiled when Lynn had absent-mindedly smoothed the tall Italian's hair as she passed to the back of his chair one evening. 

It was only when the roofers finally showed up, climbed up and spent most of an afternoon removing that tarp and doing whatever else was needed, not that they ever explained just what WAS needed and seemed to spend a great deal of time laughing and talking and such, that the reality struck both Lynn and Actor; with the roof fixed, there was no reason for him to stay in that ever-so-convenient room next to hers.

The habitual drink and conversation seemed quieter, more stilted than usual that evening. They both knew the proximity was what made it seem natural, easy; that having him in the next section down with several rooms in between them, for others to observe their movements, well, that was going to make what they'd come to enjoy so much more awkward.

Lynn: {"So, how do I suggest he stay where he is? It's not like it's all THAT much effort to move his things back to his old room. What will he think if I DO make that suggestion? What if he doesn't WANT to stay? I'd be putting him in a very uncomfortable position. Hell, I'd be putting MYSELF in a very uncomfortable position! We have to work together, live together. If I suggest and he declines, where do we go from there?"}. Perhaps it was growing up watching her parents and their manipulations, of each other, of Craig and herself, that made her more conscious of making a wrong move, trying to con the great con man into doing something he really didn't want to do. Certainly it was what had always made her more cautious of being conned in her own right.

Actor: {"I will miss hearing her, just knowing she's near. I will miss these evenings together, the quiet times. Of course, it's not far, just a few rooms down, but still, it will make it much more obvious to the others that we are spending the time together. Of course, it's only a drink or two, some conversation, still Craig might object; SHE might object to the teasing I just know Casino and Goniff will come up with. I wonder how she would take it if I suggested it was too much trouble to move everything a second time, that I just remain here? I wonder . . ."}

They talked about everything except what was foremost in their minds, til they'd both finished their last drink long ago, stalling, delaying their usual separating, delaying her going to her room, closing that door behind her, him settling into his own end of day routine.

Finally, looking like she might bolt at any moment, she drew in a deep breath, "you know, you don't HAVE to move back. I mean, it's really no bother . . ." and stopped, flushing deep pink.

He stood, looking down at her as if he was trying to read her mind, "no, I don't have to move back, do I? Everything fits quite well here," and reached out one hand, taking hers, drawing her close. She searched his dark eyes, finding confirmation there of what she'd hoped to see, and let a small grin of mischief come to her face.

"Well, we haven't really determined THAT yet; perhaps we should?" and her grin became full-blown as his eyes widened as he took in her meaning.

A slow smile came to his face, "yes, perhaps we should do just that." 

They didn't say anything to the others, but somehow they didn't have to. At the breakfast table, once the dishes were cleared and another cup of coffee being poured, Goniff, the one without the filters, let out a deep sigh of satisfaction.

"Well, this is more like it! About ruddy time, if you ask me! That 'allway loo, the one that opens on that bedroom? We can close off that outside 'allway door, leave it private for the two of you. Those panels can come down tween the two bedrooms, if that's w'at you want, make it one big room, but . . . Well, let me show you w'at we could do instead."

A fast scurrying to the file room, pulling out of the blueprints, the list of furniture stored away, and by the time the coffee pot had been fired up for the third time, it was determined that the panels would stay in place, as well as the door, but that most of the furniture in Lynn's bedroom would go into storage, a few pieces snared from their own furniture stores put into place to turn that room into a sitting room cum office cum library, and "Mrs. Wilson 'as some nice upholstered pieces from a sell-down awhile back. You can use throw covers til we get them re-done in the colors you want or til you find things you like better; we can always tuck them back in storage til they're needed again. You know, if we put our minds to it, I imagine we could get it all done by this afternoon. W'at do you think? Open a nice bottle or two after to celebrate??" him sitting back in his chair, wide grin on his face, perilously close to a smirk.

Casino groaned, "I think you're pushing just a little hard, Limey. Maybe they want to think on this a little first?"

Both Lynn and Actor laughed, reaching out a hand to each other.

"No, for once I think Goniff has it just right. We've thought too much, for too long, almost past seeing what we really want. Let's go ahead and get this done today."

Though, of course, that set off a round of "w'at do you mean 'for once'? I'll 'ave you know there's been PLENTY of times . . . ".

As well as a disgusted, "NOW you've done it! Makin him think he gets good ideas! You know that's just gonna cause trouble sooner or later!"

They all laughed, drank their coffee, talked over the particulars and once the coffee was finished, rolled up their sleeves and got the job done.

And the celebratory dinner Meghada cooked was outstanding, the wine excellent, the bourbon from the Family beyond that. And all of that, the congratulations, and teasing, and slaps on the back, and kisses on the cheek? As grand as all that was, it paled by comparison to the feeling of contentment, the pure satisfaction, the sense of rightness when the two walked into their own suite of rooms and closed that door behind them.

Lynn took Actor by surprise by letting out a slightly tipsy giggle. He raised his aristocratic brows in query. She grinned and swayed into his arms.

"I wonder how long Goniff and Meghada had all that planned out? Did you see the date on those blueprints??! It was well before the war was over, and those panels and hidden doors and everything, it all had to have been done back then. Even the colors of these two rooms match!"

He looked around, realizing that for the first time, realizing what that meant, and shook his head ruefully, "and here I thought I was the master con of the group! I think we've been had, my dear." And frankly, neither of them minded one little bit!


End file.
